


can you wake up again, for me?

by noodlevault



Category: Entry Point (Video Game)
Genre: THIS IS REALLY FUCKING SAD IM SO SORRY, literally just angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:55:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25559185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noodlevault/pseuds/noodlevault
Summary: No matter where he steps, he's always on the field. Even when he tries to live normally again.(A prequel to "she wouldn't want this for you", happening after the events of the EP storyline.)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 7





	can you wake up again, for me?

The curtains are drawn, letting the harsh daylight in.

“Jack.”

He stays silent and unmoving on the bare mattress. 

“Jack, I made breakfast.”

He doesn’t have the energy to respond, even though he’s been in bed for days. The only movement comes from him shifting his arm further over his eyes, blocking out the light.

“How long has it been since you’ve eaten something?”

He doesn’t have the heart to tell her that he’s completely lost his appetite, so he stays silent. The thought of food hadn’t crossed his mind ever since he isolated himself in his room.

“Have you had anything to drink? Anything at all?”

At the mention of drinks, he realizes how dehydrated he is. His mouth is uncomfortably dry and his lips are chapped. The dull headache thrums in the back of his skull.

He doesn’t know how long it’s been until the mattress sinks next to him, and his arm is gently lifted off his head.

“Sit up, I brought you water.”

He slowly opens his eyes, taking a while to adjust to the light. In front of him, Sofia sits on the bed with a glass of water in hand. And slowly, ever so slowly, he starts to shift, sitting up against the bed frame.

She tentatively hands the glass to him, and he starts to drink.

“Can you help me unpack a little today? There’s not much, really. We just need to get the little things like utensils and dishes onto the shelves. Then we’ll be finished with moving.”

He continues drinking and nods his head. 

“Can you also come to the store with me today? So you can have a breath of fresh air?”

“Okay.” He finally speaks, finishing the glass. His voice is hoarse and scratchy.

“Come on now. The eggs are getting cold.” Sofia gets up, leaving the door to Jack’s room open. Jack slowly gets up, following her into the kitchen where a dining table is set up. He hasn’t set foot outside his room for a day or two.

The place isn’t such a mess of boxes anymore. Sofia must have unpacked a lot while he was in his lifeless episode. 

She pulls out a chair next to him, and they sit down at the table. Sofia pushes a plate of eggs in front of him, handing him a fork.

“Get some food in you, Jack.” She sighs, digging her fork in her own plate of eggs.

“Okay.”

He slowly starts to eat. They sit in silence. 

The quieter it gets, the louder Jack’s thoughts seem to churn in his head. Faces of operatives he never got the name of. A photo of an operative’s family on their desk. Stifled crying he pretended not to hear coming from the barracks. He shakes his head, focusing on the plate in front of him. It’s cleaned off.

“Let’s unpack the last few boxes now.”

He gets up, following her to the kitchen. She passes him a box to go through.

“Those are the utensils and glasses. I’ll take care of the bowls and plates.”

He opens the box, picking each glass out, one by one. It’s a good distraction- mindlessly sorting objects takes his mind off things.

In the middle of sorting, Sofia accidentally drops a plate- the noise of it shattering violently breaking the silence. Jack whips around at the sudden noise, reaching for a gun that isn’t there.

“GAH-”

He doesn’t know when he ended up on the floor. His eyes are shut tightly, but his mind takes the opportunity to torture him.

The flashback is so vivid, the noise of the dropped plate morphing into the gunshot he heard on his last call with Rachael. He was back in the dark comms room, clutching the phone with an iron grip as he tried to register what just occurred. 

_Ja… Ja… Jack…_

Rachael’s struggling breaths repeat endlessly in his head.

_She’s dead._

Her killer adds on to the cloud of voices.

_We’ll dump her in Eerie._

He feels like he’s drowning with her, unable to breathe. Images of a red-haired corpse sinking to the lake bed fill his mind, an ugly visualization of the phone conversation that stays engraved into his memory.

_Jack…_

Rachael’s voice haunts him.

_Jack!_

He’s hyperventilating, chest heaving with every short breath.

“Jack, please, listen to me. You’re having a flashback.” Sofia’s voice reminds him that he’s in the present. Her voice wavers slightly, but she’s trying to keep it as calm as possible.

“Focus on your breathing.”

He opens his eyes again. Sofia keeps her distance from him, but she sits at his level. Sweat beads on his forehead. 

It’s difficult, but he gets his breathing even again. He takes deep breaths, grounding himself to the present. The voices and visions start to go away.

“We should get you moving, it’ll help you clear your head. Do you want to go to the store now?” Sofia asks, getting up.

He nods.

“You should get changed. I can help with your hair.”

He nods again, slowly rising and making his way to his room. He hasn’t changed from the cargo shorts and tank top that he had on when he first made the trip to their new home. So he fishes in his dresser until he finds a black long sleeve and jeans since it was rather chilly at this time of year. But at the bottom of the dresser, he feels a leathery texture and pulls it out.

He finds his old eyepatch sitting in his palm. Multiple emotions go through him at once. Mostly self-loathing.

He ends up snapping it in half and burying it in the trash bin before another flashback can set in, swiftly leaving his room afterward to find Sofia. She greets him and sits him in front of a mirror as she combs through his nest of hair.

As she tugs the brush through the knots, he glances over at her in the mirror. The once bright blue coloring on her hair has faded into a bluish brown. Her bright and active demeanor is nowhere to be seen ever since the organization was disbanded. 

“Are you okay with a bun?”

“Sure.”

He feels his hair pulled back and tied into a bun with a hair tie she has in hand. She brushes the stray strands of hair out of his face with her fingers, tucking them behind his ears.

“I’ll order a prosthetic eye fitting for you when you’re ready, but for now we have to make do with these.” Sofia opens a cardboard box of medical eye patches, fishing one out. She presses the cotton patch over his empty eye, fixing it in place with tape.

“Thanks.” He murmurs, looking at his reflection. He looks clean and put-together; nothing gives away who he once was.

“No problem.”

She gets up, grabbing her backpack that sports a small texas-shaped keychain dangling from the zipper. She motions for Jack to follow her, and they leave the house together. The ground is damp from recent rain, and the air is cold and crisp. Sofia was right, it helped clear Jack’s mind for a little while.

They walk to the convenience store, enjoying mutual silence. Not many people are out and about in this weather, so the convenience store is less crowded- thankfully.

“What kind of cereal do you like?” Sofia asks as they reach the food selection, rolling their little cart with them.

“I don’t… I don’t really have a favorite.”

“Alright.” She puts two boxes of Lucky Charms in the cart.

“You should uh, get something healthier.”

“There’s my old man. It’s been a while.” She giggles softly, putting the boxes back on the shelf and replacing them with corn flakes.

They continue down the aisles. Jack lets Sofia do all the shopping. 

“Do you want to get bedsheets for that mattress of yours?” Sofia looks over at him as they enter another aisle.

“I- I don’t like sleeping with anything on me.”

“Don’t you get cold?”

The temperature was far from why he despised quilts or comforters. Ever since Ember Shroud, having a sheet or blanket over him when lying down made him feel trapped, reminding him of the burning rubble pinning him to the ground as he slowly lost consciousness. But nothing comes out when he opens his mouth to explain.

“It’s okay, you don’t need to tell me.” Sofia continues pushing the cart, “Let’s just grab a few more things and go home.”

He carries most of the grocery bags on their walk home, already feeling drained from their small outing. Socialization would need some work.

“Can you tell me why you’re so tense all of a sudden?” Sofia asks softly.

He didn’t even notice that he’s checking over his shoulder every other minute, scanning every nook and cranny to find someone, anyone that wasn’t there.

“You’re not on the field anymore. Nobody is out to get you. You’re safe.”

He stays silent, continuing to look around.

“Jack, you have to trust me.”

_She’s an informant. Halcyon is back. They’re paying her to keep tabs on you. She’s going to kill you._

Jack stares at her, eyes glazed over. His hands tremble slightly as the paranoia returns.

_You can’t be vulnerable around her. She’s waiting for the chance to kill you._

He starts walking faster, reaching their door before she does. He enters, slamming the door behind him and twisting the lock shut.

“JACK! JACK!!” Sofia yells behind the door, trying the handle. The door doesn’t budge.

_She’s a spy. Don’t let her get to you._

He drops the grocery bags on the floor, sinking to the ground. 

“JACK, PLEASE!”

_She’ll kill you. You’ll die when she gets in._

He threads his hands through his hair, gripping his scalp. He wanted the thoughts gone. He wishes he could unplug them somehow.

“Jack…” Sofia’s voice is quieter this time. She sounds like she’s on the verge of tears.

_You’re putting yourself in danger. Don’t open it. Don’t. If you open it, you’re going to have to fight for your life._

He twists the lock on the door after a few minutes of silence.

It opens gently, and Sofia steps in. In her hands are grocery bags, not loaded guns.

“Jack… Please... What can I do to help you?” Her voice quivers.

“I don’t- I don’t want to hurt you, kiddo. I’m sorry, I’m so, so, sorry.” He gets the sentence out through uneven breaths, head buried in his hands, “Please, just leave me alone. For your own damn good.”

Sofia stays frozen, watching him as he shakily gets up, returning to his room.

And as he closes the bedroom door behind him, locking it, he swears he can hear her crying from a few rooms over.

Why did he make it out alive? 

It would be so much easier if he was dead in a ditch somewhere, not dealing with his broken mind daily and having to deteriorate right in front of Sofia’s eyes.

He gently removes the hair tie that she put in his locks, setting it down on the bedside dresser. He goes to close the blinds once more, laying down on his bare mattress. 

He didn’t know how long he’d sleep for this time around. But a part of him hoped he wouldn’t wake up again.


End file.
